95 Reasons to Race
by stitchattack42
Summary: Owen loves racing against the neighbor kids, but what happens when a Piston Cup agent discovers him? What happens when a cactus lands on him? Will he ever be able to race again? This is my first fic, so please review! :)
1. Chapter 1

Owen stared at the old asphalt track with confidence. Though it would be his first race, he had a gut feeling that he was going to do great. As soon as the race started, a wave of fear and excitement filled him. The announcer, who was much younger than he was, began the countdown "3…2…1… GO!" she screamed over the roaring engines, and they were off. Owen darted to the head of the group, thinking about nothing else but winning. Before he knew it, it was over. He had won. It was the best feeling of his life. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that some adults were off to the distance, making sure that no one got hurt, but they neither cheered nor even smiled for his victory. He didn't care, he was moving on to the next stage of the little league racers.

Later that year, at the finals to enter the championships, Owen was ready to win yet another race. Being undefeatable, he had nothing to worry about, but still had a feeling that something bad was imminent. The announcer, now about the same age as him, being a disqualified racer early on, started the race rather quickly, as if he wanted to just get out of there. "_It's just because he lost to me_," Owen thought as he sped off, not thinking about the fact that he almost ran the kid over. Two laps in and going on the final, the bully caught up to him and tried to pass him. Owen decided that that wasn't going to happen and swerved to cut him off. All seemed to go well when he caught part of his rim on the front of the bully's bumper. Both went flying into the air and crash landed into the cactus nearby. Dazed and confused by the impact, the last thing Owen saw was another kid crossing the finish line in his place.

When he woke up, he was in a strange place that was most likely a hospital, but he couldn't see beyond his shattered windshield. He tried to think back to the accident, but couldn't remember anything about it except the crack and then pain of the cactus falling on him. _What's going to happen to me? I'll never be able to race again in this condition, _he thought sadly to himself. He saw some other cars drive into his room, but he couldn't tell who they were. He assumed that they were most likely his parents accompanied by doctors, but none of them were wearing what he thought were the hats normal doctors wore. He tried to think, but it hurt too much, so he closed his eyes and tried to rest. As he drifted off to sleep, he heard them talking about him.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke up. Something seemed different about him, but he couldn't place what. At the very least, he could see again. Waiting for him, were his parents and another car that he had no idea who he was. "Mom? Dad? Where am I?" Owen asked, confused. His parents didn't seem to hear him, so he wondered if he could even speak. He could hear, though, so he eavesdropped on the conversation occurring in front of him. They were obviously talking about him, but he didn't get why the strange, official-looking car was there. They eventually noticed that he was at least semi-awake, and his mother pressed the nurse call button. A nurse must have been right there, because one came right in, asking if he was alright. They told her that he was, and that he was conscious. The nurse didn't say anything that he could understand, and turned on something that was connected to him, which made him fall into a deep sleep.

When he awoke for a second time, Owen noticed that he felt a lot better, but also a lot lighter. He tried talking, but there was no one to hear him, so it didn't matter. Apparently everyone had left for a while. He checked for a clock in his room. When he found one, it said that it was midnight. That's why. He didn't feel like sleeping, so he decided to explore the hospital. Not wanting to start his engine, he crawled out of his room and over to see his charts next to the door. That was when he noticed that he was a lot shorter, too. He could barely reach the charts, and just managed to knock them out of their compartment. Leafing through the papers in the low light, he saw the word _transfer_, but no hospital name after it. It wasn't even in the correct blank; it was in the diagnosis spot. He needed to find a mirror. Crawling back into his room, he saw that a bathroom was connected to it, with the light on. Going in, he saw what he was now. Owen was now more streamline and painted bright orange with a yellow lightning bolt on his side, plastered over with a giant number 95. He crawled as fast as he could back over to his charts. His name was written on the top line, but it wasn't what he thought it was. His name was Lightning.


End file.
